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Thursday, May 26, 2016

Xiaomi Mi Drone Unveiled $450 4K video

China-based smartphone maker Xiaomi has announced its first drone the Mi Drone. It is a nicely designed and build drone that is equipped with a built-in camera that is located below the base of the drone. The drone has four separate legs that serve as its stand.

Just like other Xiaomi stuff, they didn’t actually create the Mi Drone itself. They have partnered with China-based Flymi, which designs and manufacture the devices. Xiaomi is putting its considerable brand behind the drone and selling it through its channels, which include its Mi.com online store.

The Xiaomi Mi Drone will have two versions, the 1080p and 4K variants. The 1080p version is cheaper and it will be crowdfunded on the Mi Home app, while the 4K model will be available for testing through an open beta program in late July.

Xiaomi Mi Drone is way more cheaper than its competition. Xiaomi is known for selling high-quality devices at a fraction of cost of top of the line devices on the market.

The Mi drone 1080p is priced at 2499 CNY (around $381) for the entry-level device and 2999 CNY ($450) for the more advanced model 4K variant. That’s an awful lot cheaper than DJI, the market leader, which starts at $800 for 4K, and others in the drone market.

The company said that the Mi Drone can fly for about 27 minutes powered by 5,100 mAh battery built into it. It has a range of 3km. DJI’s drones, which fly for 23-28 minutes depending on the model. It uses uses both GPS and GLONASS for accurate positioning, but if in case there’s no signal, the drone will rely on vision positioning, and it can even continue hovering at low altitudes below 2.5 meters.

The device is also equipped with real-time location tracking that will make it easier for you to locate it if it crashes, and it can also return to you automatically if it’s low on battery.

This drone can be operated using a PCB antenna array via the remove, which should help in case the drone loses signal or something of the sort. According to the company, they have lessen the weight of this drone by 16%, and that the build is more than solid.

The 1080p model comes with a 16-megapixel Sony’s CMOS sensor, and has a 104-degree wide-angle view. The 4K variant ships with a 12-megapixel shooter and supports recording still images in RAW format. Camera sensors on both variants of the Mi Drone are attached to a highly sensitive three-axis gimbal which should help with stabilization (stabilizes up to 2,000 vibrations per second, according to Xiaomi).